The String That Binds Our Fate
by AyaHoshimi
Summary: This is the story of Alice Berux. See as she grows up from a bunny-loving girl to a top notch titan slayer and her encounters with Eren and Rivaille along the way. Will she be able to find love in this living hell? A love triangle between Eren, OC and Rivaille. Ratings may change for future cursing, gore and maybe just maybe lemons.
1. Prologue

**This is my first Shingeki no Kyojin fanfiction so please go easy on me m(_ _)m I fell deeply in love with the anime (and Rivaille) and I just couldn't resist writing another crappy story, I hope you all like it though XD My English isn't THAT good so please feel free to point out any mistakes. :)**

**Special thanks to InvisibleGoldStar and JazBex for beta reading my story :3**

**P.S. Although her surname is spelt Berux it is pronounced as Brooks, and Luce is pronounced as Lu-chay. Usa-chan is basically bunny but it doesn't have the same effect as Usa-chan, so i'll just call it Usa-chan.**

**I do NOT own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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Little feet pounded the hallway, her hair bobbed as she ran. Finally, she had reached her destination. The door swung open with a loud bang.

"Papa! Papa! Look."

The little brunette says excitedly as she barges through the door. With a stuffed rabbit in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other, she drops the blue daisies on the lap of the man as she hurdles herself on the edge of the bed.

"Are you feeling better today, papa?"

"Alice! I told you not to pick the flowers from the garden and you're dirtying the sheets." The woman nagged.

"Now, now, Luce, Alice is just a child."

"You spoil her too much, dear and she's already 5. She is old enough to understand."

"Alice is just trying to cheer me up, weren't you?" He said it with a kind smile and he places his hand on her head.

She nods and tugs lightly on her mother's skirt.

"I'm sorry, mama." She hugs her rabbit tighter.

The woman let out a big sigh, it was impossible to stay mad at her for long.

"Alice, you know. You don't have to worry about me so much. It's alright if you want to go out and play."

She shakes her head vigorously.

"I want to be with papa. I like it here."

"But you should go out and make some friends. You have to make some sooner or later."

"I don't need any besides I have Usa-chan." She pulled the white stuffed rabbit closer to her chest and pouted.

The two spouse looks at each other with a worried expression on their face. They weren't sure if their child was just anti-social or just plain shy. It was no surprise when you have a 5 year old child that doesn't have a single friend excluding her furry toy.

"We'll talk about this another time. Anyway go clean yourself up, we're going to have dinner soon."

"Okay." The girl nods and walks out of the room while clinging onto the rabbit.

They waited for her to leave, they didn't say a word till she left the room.

"I've called for the doctor. He'll be coming tomorrow." She said to her husband.

"I told you that there was no need for that."

"You can't even make it outside, you're telling me that you're going to take a boat out to wall Maria?

There was a small pause.

"Darling..." She started, her voice cracked a little. "I know you're worried about Alice but... but you can't hide it forever. How long do we have to tell her that you're having a cold? She'll find out sooner or later."

"I know, I know but now is not the right time to tell her. It's better if she doesn't find out."

She was in the bedroom with her father as usual, playing with her companions which consisted of fluffy animals that were stuffed with cotton, her rabbit, a bear and a dog, each sat on a plastic chair. She had to beg her mom to help carry her tea table and chairs into the room, which her mother agreed under "certain conditions". She poured the imaginary tea into each teacup, after promising not to make too much noise and a mess (which they all knew was impossible) Making due with imaginary tea and cakes, few words were shared between father and daughter as basking in each other's presence was calming enough. The silence was broken by her father's coughing.

"Papa, are you still not well?" Alice looks up.

"Don't worry, I feel much better compared to yesterday." He assured her.

"Really? That's good. I hope papa gets better quick then, we can go see the flowers in the garden together."

"Yeah, me too."

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the hallways. It was uncommon for them to receive any visitor other than the monthly visits of the warehouse manager and certainly not this early in the morning. Curiosity got the better of her.

"I'll go see who that is." She gets up not forgetting her rabbit and races to the front door.

The girl's mother was already at the door. She hid behind the wall and tried to sneak a peek at the unusual visitor. He was tall and a little thin, he had dark brown eyes that was hidden behind large round glasses and had matching colored mid length hair that was tuck behind his ears. He wore a long-sleeved jacket with a white scarf tucked under it, in his hand he carried a large black bag that looked like it was large enough to keep an entire 2 year supply of candy (a 5 year-old's imagination). She also notices his strange mustache. Her mother spotted her.

"Alice, come here."

She knew she couldn't get away, there was no place to hide and not enough time to run. She scattered behind the protection of her mother's skirt (the ultimate fortress) and hid behind it.

"I'm very sorry, she's really shy. Alice, introduce yourself."

"I'm... A-Alice." She tightened her grip.

"Alice? That's a beautiful name."

"Alice, this is Doctor Jaeger. He's going to take care of papa."

She mastered her courage and walked up to him.

"Can you make papa better again?"

"I'll do everything I can."

She smiled and suddenly she remembered her embarrassment and hid herself again. The doctor laughed at her flustered expression.

"What am I going to do with her?"

"Don't worry about it. She's the total opposite of my son. He is a real troublemaker and rather rebellious."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a child."

"I do, he should be around the same age as Alice."

"In that case you must bring him with you, next time. It'd be nice if Alice could make some friends. She is very introverted and doesn't have a single friend."

"In that case, I will bring him in my next visit."

The two adults continued their conversation as she led them to the room. The little girl unable to keep up with their conversation decided to go back to her room. She closed the door quietly behind her and hopped on her bed.

"You heard that Usa-chan? I wonder what kind of person is he." She whispered into its floppy snowy white ears and smiled to herself.

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**Thank you for reading . I will do my best to update at least once a week. Reviews are ALWAYS welcomed, I really want to listen to your comments and ideas :3 Please tell me what you think about it.**


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm back with this weeks chapter. Thank you everybody for reading my story. Honestly, I didn't think this many people would have read it . I'm sooo happy right now. I'm grateful for everyone's support :3 **

**Please tell me if you spot any mistakes, I wrote this in a rush. So, there might be mistakes here and there.**

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It was his weekly visit to his patient; he had to check on his health as often as possible. They came up to a large Victorian style house, it wasn't uncommon for the residents of Wall Rose but it was still impressive. He pressed the doorbell.

"Coming!" A voice called out from behind the door.

In a few seconds the door swung open.

"I'm sorry for the wait doctor. Thank you for coming today."

"Anytime Mrs. Berux. Ah, this is my son. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Hello, my name is Eren Jaeger."

"So, you're Eren. My! What a handsome young man he is. This is Al... Alice? She was here a moment ago. Oh my, how rude of me. Come in, come in." She said as she closed the door. Where did that girl go?" She mumbled.

Eren's eyes scan the place, after all it's not like you can see a house this big in Wall Maria. He noticed something white and furry sticking out from behind the wall and went to inspect.

"Konnichiwa." Eren said.

The girl jumped upon hearing his voice, she nearly tipped over the vase that she was leaning against.

"What are you doing here?" Eren asked.

"Um..." She answered in a flustered voice.

"Alice! Geez, what are you doing over there? Eren came all the way here to play with you." She said as she pulled her out from her hiding spot. "I'm sorry Eren but could you play with this shy girl? She doesn't interact much with children her own age." She turned to her daughter. "Alice, you better play with Eren till Doctor Jaeger is done with papa's checkup, alright?"

The girl nodded obediently.

"Good. Now Doctor, shall we?"

"Yes, of course. Eren play nice, ok?"

The both of them were left standing in the hallway.

"Your name was Alice right?"

She nodded with her eyes downcast.

"I'm Eren. Nice to meet you." He cast his hand out for a handshake.

She didn't reply, she just stared blankly at his hand.

"It's a handshake."

She put out her rabbit's right paw

"Erm… I meant with your hand."

She didn't move.

"Oh well."

He took the rabbit's paw and shook it.

"So what do you want to do?" Eren asked.

She mumbles something that was barely audible and the only thing he could make out was "want to" and "garden". Taking it as an invitation to go to the garden, he accepts. She leads him to a garden and he follows her from behind, they came up to a huge garden that had a gazebo and even a fountain in the middle. All sorts of flowers bloomed neatly by the flower beds, not a single thing was out of place.

"Amazing! What do your parents do?"

She was a little surprise at his enthusiasm.

"Papa, makes… toys."

"Really? That's so cool. Your room must be full of them, huh?"  
She nodded, she kneeled down at the side of the path and carefully pulls out some flowers with one hand while carefully to not get her stuff animal dirty.

"Did your dad buy that rabbit for you?"

She shook her head.

"P-papa, made it for me."

"Wow, it must be hard, huh? It looks so detailed."

She didn't answer.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he bent down by her side.

"I'm picking flowers for papa."

"Why? Don't you feel bad for the flowers? Pulling them out of their home?"

"I do but papa loves flowers and right now papa is sick and he can't come outside to see them. So, I'll bring them to him."

"I see, you must really love your dad."

She nods and smiles.

"I love papa and mama very much."

"I hope your dad gets better soon."

"Yeah, me too."

"Let me help you, which one should I pick?"

She looks at him dumb founded, it was the first time someone wasn't annoyed to be around her. She didn't have any friends, she didn't need any, as long as her parents were there, she felt that she could live through anything. She didn't feel lonely but she didn't feel complete either. This could be her chance to get to know someone but after years and years of solitude, she didn't know how to make friends.

"You can pick the baby breathes."

"Which ones are they?"

"The small and white ones." She points to a patch of them.

"So that's what they're called. You're really smart." He bent over to reach for them.

Her cheeks turned scarlet red upon getting complimented.

"By the way, how old are you? I'm 4." Eren asked.

"5."

"Eh?! You're older than me?"

She nodded.

"But you're shorter than me!"

"Height doesn't matter!"

There was a short pause between them; it was the first time she had raised her voice. She covered her mouth upon realizing that. They stared blankly at each other, she stifles her laughter. He followed after her, the two burst into uncontrollable laughter. They continued their chatter till they were called back inside.

"Papa!" She comes in holding flowers as usual with Eren jogging behind her by a few steps.

"Alice, I told you not to pluck the flowers in the garden." Her mother barked.

"Aunty, don't be mad at Alice." Eren said as he tugged her sleeves. "Alice was doing it so that Uncle will be happy."

"Eren, how dare you talk back!"

"Doctor its fine." She bent down to him "I won't get mad anymore, alright?" She patted his head gently. "I'm sorry Alice but from now on at least put them in a vase, alright?"

"Eren was it?" The frail man spoke.

"Yes." He turned to him.

"Thank you very much for playing with Alice." His face beamed as he said that.

"Darling…" She said in a faint voice.

It has been awhile since she last saw her husband smile so sincerely, most of the time he did it to hide his pain from showing.

"Yes, thank you. Please come again next time. I'm sure that would make Alice very happy." Luce said.

"That's right Eren you're more than welcome to come visit anytime. I'm glad that Alice made a friend."

"Of course, I'm sure that Eren also enjoyed himself today." He glanced at his watch. "Oh my, look at the time! We must get going or my wife will have my head."

"Why yes, it is very late. I'll see you to the door." She says as she leads them to the front door.

"Goodbye." She bids them.

"Farewell, I will contact you for the next appointment until then." He takes off his hat and bows.

Just as they were about to leave, Eren felt a light tug on his shirt. He turns around to find a bear shoved at his face. He took a step back in shock, before realizing it was a stuffed toy.

"W-what?"

"I'll give him to you." Alice spoke in a soft voice, her eyes still downcast fearing that he might reject it.

He took the brown plush toy from her grasp.

"Can I?" Eren asked.

She nodded.

"I have Usa-chan and Pochi said he wanted to go with you."

"Pochi is that its name?"

She nodded again.

"And b-besides." She stuttered.

She slowly turned her head to face his.

"Pochi can visit when you come again… I mean... you will come again, right?" She blushed as she said that.

"Sure, today was lots of fun."

"Really?"  
"Yeah, I'll come again."

"Promise?" This time she hid he face behind her rabbit.

"Promise."

"Then, pinky promise."

She held out her little finger. He holds out his in return and they entwine them. It signified their promise that is absolute and cannot be broken, it may seem like mere child's play for others but for a child nothing is more sacred then a pinky promise.

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**Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it ^^ Please tell me what you think about it. Questions and ideas are always open :3 Do you think my chapters are too short? Till next week -flees-**


	3. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN (and the ugly duckling)!**

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Just as promise, Eren said he'd come visit Alice with his father. She was overjoyed when she heard the news, the long awaited day has finally arrived but the sky was heavily overcast. Thunder roared and crash as if the Gods were having a shouting match. The occasional flash of lightning shone across the sky through the opaque silk curtains and reflected back by the glazed marble floor. The rain drop crashed against the window pane in a rhythmic pitter patter. Alice peered out the window, her head rested on her crossed arms. Her feet tapped the floor impatiently. Why did it have to rain today of all days?

"Alice, dear. Why don't you have some of this strawberry shortcake while you wait?" She asked as an attempt to draw her away from the window. She had already been standing there for the past half an hour. She knew her daughter could not resist, after all it was her favorite. Normally, she would drop everything she had, on the ground (literally) upon hearing the word 'shortcake'.

"I'm not hungry." She groaned.

She was dumbfounded by her reply. This was the first time in her entire life to have ever refused an offer of a shortcake.

"Darling, it can't be helped. For all we know, the boats could have been delayed because of the storm. I'm sure they'll be here the moment the weather clears up."

Just as she said that Alice notices two shadows walking up to the porch. In moments, the doorbell chimed. The two glanced at each other.

"I'll go get the door." Luce declared.

Excitedly, Alice trotted after her. She turned the door knob to find two figure standing before her. The taller one pulled off the hood of his mackintosh.

"Oh, Grisha! You're here. Oh dear, please come in from the rain." She said as she ushered them in before closing the door behind them.

"Please take off your trench coats and boots, you two must be freezing."

They did and handed them to her and she set them aside.

"I'm sorry to trouble you." Grisha apologized.

"Oh, not at all. Come come, I'll make some tea to warm you two up. Alice, you and Eren can go warm up in the lounge."

She nodded and led him through the corridor; her mother gave Eren a towel to dry himself off and served the two kids some hot cocoa. As they sat by the cobalt stone fireplace, Alice suggested reading a book as it was still raining heavily. She held out a large picture book with a lone duckling on the front page. It was titled 'The Ugly Duckling'. They laid on their bellies with the book opened up in front of them. She had to read it since Eren couldn't read as well as she could and he said she had a nice voice.

"Once upon a time." She began.

"Why do all stories start like that?" Eren whined.

"Shh." She hushed him. "A mother duck waited for her eggs to hatch. At last the eggs began to crack and one by one, the eggs hatched, all but the biggest one. Finally, it tumbled out but when she looked at him, she said 'Oh, dear! You're so ugly!'"

"Yeah, it got its looks from you." Eren added.

"I'm reading!" She said firmly. "The next day, the mother duck brought all her ducklings to the barnyard. The ugly duckling was very unhappy. The other ducks made fun of him and pecked him. He had nowhere to hide, so he ran away."

"Why doesn't he fight back? If it was me I'd show him who's boss." Eren said as he made his hand into a fist and shook it.

"Shush Eren. I'm trying to tell a story." She scowled. "He ran and ran until he came across a flock of wild ducks, he rested there. Then, some wild ducks and geese came up to him. 'You're very ugly!' they said and laughed at him. The duckling ran away agai-"

"The duck is weak! Just kick them in the face or something, by the end of it THEY'D be the ugly ones."

"Eren, keep quiet! Let me finish." She screamed. "It began to rain, the duckling was very cold an tired. Luckily, he found a little cottage, he creped inside and rested. An old lady found the duckling in the morning. When she saw it, she cried 'My! Look how ugly you are!' and she chased him out."

"That's why I hate old people." Eren couldn't resist adding.

Alice ignored his comment and continued.

"So, the ugly duckling was alone once again. He walked and walked, all the birds and animals said 'How ugly you are!"

"They should take a look in the mirror." Was what Eren wanted to say but he refrained himself from doing so.

"Winter approached, leaves fell and the ground turned cold. The duckling had nowhere to go." She stopped.

This worried Eren. Did he do something to anger her again? No, he didn't or at least he thought he didn't. He realized a teardrop that fell on the book. Was she crying? He turned to her to find her crying, tears flew from her eyes. Was that the reason why she got so mad when he interrupted? Because he was ruining the flow?

"Hey, are you crying?" Eren asked.

"I can't help it!" She said between sobs. "Even though he was a good duckling everyone kept picking on him just because he was ugly! And now he has nowhere to go, poor ducky! I didn't think the world was such a cruel place." She cried.

"Don't be sad. The story isn't over yet, I'm sure he'll have a happy ending."

"Yeah, you're right." She said as she wiped her tears dry. She cleared her throat and began again. "One day, a flock of white swans flew by. 'I wish I was like that' the duckling said sadly to himself. How he envied them. He travelled on and on, winter grew colder and the duckling couldn't find any food… IT'S GETTING WORST EREN!" She burst into tears. He comforted and reassured her that things would get better. He flipped the page and read it.

"The duckling found a safe hiding place among the reeds and stayed there for the whole of winter. After many weeks, warmth returned. The duckling spreads his wings – they were strong now.  
He rose from the ground and flew. He spotted some swans swimming in a lake; he flew down to look at them. The swans took notice of him and apwoat… appwo…"

"Approach." Alice corrected.

"Approach him. He was shocked that the beautiful swans came up to him. When he looked at his reflection, he could not recognize himself. He had become a beautiful swan. The whole flock came to greet him. 'Join us!' they said and he did. THE END! See I told you the ending was a good one." He beamed proudly as he turned to Alice who just started to cry her eyes out.

"Why are you crying?! Didn't you see he flew away with the other birds?" Eren asked.

"No, that's not it. It's just that… it's just that it was so… so… so BEAUTIFUL!" She cried. "The ending was so heartwarming, it touched me."

Does she have to cry about everything?

"Good for you ducky, good for you." Shea said as she dabbed the last of her tears off with her sleeve. "Eren, where do you think the duckling went?"

"I'm sure he flew off somewhere with his friends and lived happily ever after."

"Yeah, I think so too." She smiled.

Simultaneously, the door swung open.

"There you are darlings!" Luce sang as she waltzes in the room. "Good news Alice! Eren and Mr. Grisha will have dinner with us tonight."

"Really?" Alice asked with her eyes full of enthusiasm.

"Yes! And for this special occasion I've asked the chef to prepare a special dish. Roasted duck!"

Eren and Alice exchanged looks.

"Mama."

"Yes dear?"

"Could we not have the duck tonight?"

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**I was trying to be funny but I guess i'm not TT^TT Next chapter will be better, I promise (or at least I hope so). . I hope you don't think Alice is a little OoC in this chapter. I mean when someone interrupts you, wouldn't you get pissed? XD (not really cuz i'm more similar to Eren than Alice in this chapter. i'm guilty!)**

**Till next time! :3**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing my story everyone :3 I really love reading every single one of them, they make me so happy ^^**

**I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN!**

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The doorbell chimed. Eagerly, Alice raced to the door. Her dark blue eyes sparkled with excitement. She wore a white summer dress and her wavy brunette hair was tied up in two loose braided pig tails. She stayed up past her bedtime for days just to plan everything for today.

"Hurry mama!" She said as she rushed her mother to open the door.

Her mother skittle out of the kitchen.

"Coming, dear."

She unlocked the heavy wooden door and with a smile on her face she greeted her visitors. The little girl peeped from behind and her eyes scanned through. Her eyes met with Eren's, she smiled at him and she returned it with another.

"Mama, can Eren and I go out to the garden to play?" She couldn't hold in her excitement.

"Of course!" She laughed, she never saw her so impatient before.

Happily she grabbed Eren by the wrist and ran to the garden.

"So what do you want to play today?" Eren asked.

"I know! Let's play tea party!"

"No way! I'm not playing that! That's a girl's game."

"Fine, then what do you want to play?" Alice pouted.

"What about tag?

"I guess that's alright."

"Then tag it is."

"In that case… TAG YOU'RE IT!" Alice tapped him on the shoulder before running off.

"Hey! No fair!" Eren whined as he chased after her.

She giggled when she saw Eren stumble while trying to catch her. The game continued and the children's laughter filled the area. As time passed, slowly, their laughter turned into pants. The two laid on the ground as they tried to catch their breath. After playing tag for the past 10 minutes, they were both exhausted since each of them had to be 'it' at least 30 times as they were only playing with each other, they didn't get much distance between them and the word 'tag' was heard every few seconds. Playing tag with only two people ceased to be much harder than they had imagined.

"Hey, we should stop. It's getting really boring." Eren turned to Alice who was lying next to him

"Yeah, you're right." She hoists herself up in a sitting position. "So what do you want to play next?"

"I don't know. Any ideas? Other than tea-party."

Just as she was about to say anything Eren interrupted her.

"Or dress up or dolls."

"You're no fun." She mumbled. "Fine how about save the damsel?"

"Fine… at least its better than tea-party. In that case, you should go find somewhere to stand."

"Why?"

"We're playing save the damsel, right?

"Yeah."

"So."

"So?"

"So! Go stand somewhere so I can save you!"

"Why?"

"Because you're the princess!"

"I don't want to be the princess! You be the princess!"

"I'm a boy, I can't be the princess! You're a girl, don't normally girls want to be the princess?"

"But I don't want to! I want to be the prince!"  
"Fine we'll both be the prince."

"But we can only have one prince."

"Then I'll be the knight in shining armor!"

"Then who will be the princess?"

"You're rabbit can be the princess."

'But Usa-chan is a boy."

"So am I! Besides it's white."

"Fine… wait here. I'll go get everything set up." She said as she disappeared into the house.

Eren sat there and began wondering if she was really the same Alice he met 2 months ago, the same shy and unsociable Alice. Recently she began to open up more and became more talkative, not that he minded. After all it was better than having a one-sided conversation with an awkward silence when he couldn't think of what else to say.

"Alright, I'm back! Come on, Sir Eren! We must save the princess from the ferocious beast before it's too late. Here catch, gear up!" She commanded as she threw his weapon to him which was a rolled up newspaper. She attached hers to her waist, it was held up with a string.

"Now get on the trusty stead." She said as she smacked the stuff animal.

"B-but…" Eren hesitated. "But it's a sheep."

"You have to use your imagination."

"But it's a sheep no matter how you look at it."

"It's a horse Eren!"

"It's a sheep!"

"No, it's not! It's our trusty stead!"

"Sheep!"

"Fine! It's our trusty sheep! Now get on it before the princess gets eaten."

"Now why are you up front?" Eren complained.

"Well, can you ride a horse?"

"No…"

"Exactly!"

_When did she become so bossy?_

She pretend to nudge the sides of the plush toy and the two began to gallop away to their journey on their trusty sheep.

"Halt! There it is! The evil dragon has appeared." She said as she points to another stuff toy.

"It's a dog." Eren interrupts.

"It's a dragon if I say so!" She insisted.

She pulls out her 'sword' and began charging at it.

"Attack!" She screams in a war like cry.

Eren pulled his out too and the two began their 'attack' on the 'ferocious dragon'. Finally, after the 'long' hard battle the dragon was defeated (they knocked it over).

"Now that we've defeated it, we have to save the princess."

"Back on the sheep!" Eren ordered.

The two (three if you count the steed… I-I mean sheep) made their way to the patio and in the center stood a tall white round table, on it was a white stuffed rabbit wearing a pink henin hat on its head.

"Isn't it a little too high?" Eren asked. He wondered how she even managed to place it up there.

"It's alright." She gets off the stuffed sheep. "Have no fear princess! I, Prince Alice and Knight Eren are here to save you! Let's go Eren." She giggled as she ran up to the table. "Here, lift me." She said as she ushered him to get down.

"Why can't we use the chairs?" Eren asked.

"Don't be silly Eren. Heroes don't use chairs."

"Fine." Eren sighed. He got on all fours; Alice took a step on his back. Eren grunted.

"Sorry." Alice whispered to him.

She took a while to balance; she takes hold of the table to stabilize herself. She tiptoes to get a better reach for their 'damsel'.

"Almost there!" She stretched her arms. "I got it!"

Eren groaned again and the both of them fell on top of each other.

"Ouch." They moaned.

"You alright?" Alice who was on top of Eren asked (no obscene intentions was intended).

"Yeah."

"Sorry." She got off of him.

"It's alright."

"I'm tired."

"Me too."

"Let's go rest at the gazebo over there."

"Yeah."

"I wonder where those two went." Luce said.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere."

"Yeah. Oh! Look!"

She pointed out the two children resting with their heads on top of each other's. Both of them sleeping soundly.

"They look like little angles." Luce exclaimed.

"They must have tuckered themselves off."

"Yes. It'll be a shame to wake them up."

"Let's leave them be for a while."

"Yes. Let's have some tea while we wait."

"I'd love that."

The two adults walked away continuing their chatter in the house. A little smile appeared on Alice's face, that day she dreamt of many adventures and of course by her side was none other than…"

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**A/N: I don't think you can consider this as a cliff hanger since it's pretty obvious who it is. :3 Alice is pretty open to Eren so now she's showing her true sadist nature XD Do you guys prefer this Alice or the shy Alice more?**

**P.S. The next chapter will be the last chapter of the Eren and Alice arc. Do you guys think I should extend it more or should I just skip to the next arc? Please tell me what you think . (I think we all know what the next arc is -winkwink-)**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter is the last chapter of the Eren arc, I think it's obvious who's arc is next -winkwink- Be prepared everyone there's gonna be a few new OC in it :D**

**P.S. The italic words are thoughts :3**

**I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN!**

* * *

"Hello there! Thank you so much for coming all the way here." Carla greeted her guest.

"It's my pleasure. Forgive us for visiting so suddenly."

"Don't be. Eren always has so much fun. You must be Alice, thank you for playing with Eren." She bent down to greet the little girl.

"Ah! Albert! Luce! I didn't expect you to arrive so early." Grisha said.

"Alice was too excited and kept rushing us." Luce laughed.

Alice covered her redden face with her rabbit.

"Eren was also very excited. He stayed up all night because of it. I just sent him to get some firewood he should be back soon."

"Hey, mom! Don't tell them that." Eren screamed as he came in the house with his crimson colored face.

He quickly unloaded the firewood and took hold of Alice by her wrist. He stormed out.

"What was mom thinking?" Eren mumbled as he walked through the busy streets.

"Eren can we go there?" Alice pointed out.

"Ah, the lake? Sure." He replied.

They walked up to it. Suddenly a voice called out to them from behind.

"Oi, Eren. Hanging out with a girl?" a local bully teased with two others behind him.

"What do you want?" Eren asked in an annoyed tone.

Eren was often bullied by him, recently he tries to fight back often resulting with a black eye and bruises but that didn't stop him. No, Eren wasn't the type of person that was willing to go down without a fight. The bully was definitely a few years older than both Alice and Eren, they didn't have the time to flee.

"Could she be your girlfriend?" One of them teased.

"Don't be stupid. She's one of my dad's patient's daughter."

Somehow the sentence 'dad's patient's daughter' made Alice feel distant, was that really all she was to him? It hurt her a little but she shrugged it off.

"Eren's got a girlfriend! Eren's got a girlfriend!" they chanted over and over.

Eren's blood boiled a little, he was pissed but he didn't want to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Yeah, very mature. Let's go Alice." He took hold of her arm and pulled her away but before he could do that the three boys stood in front of them.

"Move aside." Eren commanded.

"Or what?" the bully answered.

"Eren…" Alice tugged on to Eren's sleeve. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Eren, your girlfriend's about to cry." He pretended to cry.

Her tears were about to overflow, Eren noticed that and he swung his fist into the bully's face.

"You looking for a fight?" He shook his fist angrily.

A brawl began between Eren and the three boys. Alice stood there, thinking of how to stop them. She got closer to them but they knocked her over and her rabbit went flying and fell into the river. The four of them stopped fighting upon realizing.

"Usa-chan!" Alice screamed.

She ran to save it but she was held back.

"Wait! That's the deep part, you can't swim can you?" Eren said.

"But… but…Usa-chan." She started sobbing.

"I-it's not my fault. She dropped it in herself." The bully said and he ran off with his companions behind him.

"Hey!" He said as he chased after him but Alice held on to his sleeve.

"Eren, Usa-chan." She said it between sobs.

"Don't worry, I'll get it back for you." He gave her a reassuring smile and he dived in. In a few moments, he came back up gasping for air. "I got it!" He said as he held the rabbit up in the air with one hand. He pushed himself back up to land, Alice ran up to him and started crying

"Why are you crying? It's a little dirty and wet but you can wash it"

She shook her head.

"T-thank good…ness. Eren is sa..fe." She cried.

"I'm fine as you can see, so don't cry, alright?"

She nodded and dried her tears. They sat by the steps to the river.

"You're always carrying that rabbit around, it must be very important to you, huh? Does it have a name?"

She shook her head.

"Usa-chan is Usa-chan."

"So Usa-chan isn't its name? Why doesn't it have one?" Eren asked.

"I can't think of one."

Suddenly, the sound of bells chiming echoed throughout the city.

"The heroes have returned!" Eren said as he jumped up.

"Heroes?"

"The scouting legion! Come on! Let's go!" Eren said with enthusiasm.

Before Alice could say anything, Eren had begun tugging her towards the large crowd that was gathering. She was mesmerized by his passionate and excited eyes. She smiled little, seeing him so happy and worked up. He jumped up a crate and helped Alice up. Eren's looked on with awe as the army marched by. Some severely injured, they all walked with their beady eyes downcast on the ground. After a while, the crowd died down and it began to dispersed.

"Aren't they cool? When I'm old enough, I'm going to join the scouting legion." Eren said.

"What does the scouting legion do?" Alice asked.

"You don't know?! They're the heroes of the world! They fight titans first hand and the best of all, they get to go outside the walls."

"Do you want to go outside the walls?"

"Of course I do!"

"But why?"

"I don't want to spend my life living like livestock. I want to see what's outside these walls."

"What does the outside world look like?"

"I don't know but I'm sure it's really pretty."

"I don't think I want Eren to join the scouting legion."

"Why not?"

Because… if you go. I'll be alone. I don't want that!"

"You can always come with me."

"Can I?"

"Of course! Let's go explore the world together!"

"When I grow up, I want to join the scouting legion too! And I also want to be Eren's wife."

"What?" Eren's face turned red.

"You don't want me to be your wife?"

"Well it's not that…" Eren answered in a flustered voice.

"Then let's make a promise!"

"What kind of promise?"

"Let's promise that no matter what happens. We'll be together forever!"

"Alright."

"Pinky promise?"

"Y-yeah. Pinky promise." Eren blushed.

* * *

"Thanks again for inviting us over." Luce said.

"The pleasure is mine. I'm glad that the kids had a good time. Please do come again." Carla thanked them.

"Of course we will, oh dear! Look at the time. If we don't hurry now, the boat will leave. Now Alice it's time to say good-bye." Albert said.

"Bye-bye." She waved.

"Bye." Eren waved back.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She ran back to Eren and whispered into his ear. "I thought of a name for Usa-chan."

"Really? What did you name it?" Eren asked.

"It's a secret." She placed her finger in front of her lips.

"Alice come along now." Her mother shouted.

"Coming! Bye-bye Eren, see you next time." She said as she ran off.

_I'm sorry I couldn't tell you his name, Eren. But I just couldn't, because it's too embarrassing. After all, I named him after my first friend and my first love. Someone who I treasure deeply. I can never call him by his name in front of you because I named him, Eren._

* * *

"You two stay here. I'll go call for a carriage." Luce said.

"Did you enjoy yourself Alice?" Albert asked.

"Yeah."

"That's good." He smiled. "I'm glad you're having fun."

"Papa. When can I see Eren again?"

"Hmm… probably in three days."

"Really?"

"Yes. Aren't you glad?"

She nodded.

* * *

Little did she know that reality wasn't as nice as she thought and that this world was a cruel place, a very cruel place and no one and nothing can escape it's fate.

"Papa? What's wrong? Papa?!"

* * *

**Farewell little Eren, it was fun writing your kid self and your adventures! TT^TT **

**A/N: This has got to be my shortest chapter yet . I'm sorry that the pace is really fast this time.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all your reviews, follows and favorites! Words can't describe how happy I am. Please continue to support me. :3**

**This chapter is really messy because of all it's scene change. D:  
**

**Please excuse my typos and errors. m(_ _)m  
**

**I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN!**

* * *

She entered the room, her mother was crying on her father's chest. Luce looked up as she saw her daughter enter, she dried her tears, not wanting her daughter to see her like this.

"Alice, come here." Her voice cracked.

"I'm sorry Alice, I did everything I could but Albert… your father…" Grisha bit his lips, he always hated moments like this, he thought carefully of a way to break the news to her. "Your father passed away."

"What does that mean?" Alice asked.

"It means papa… papa is… dead." Her mother said it in between sobs.

"Dead?"

"I'm sorry darling, I'm so sorry." Luce covered her face in her arms.

"I don't understand."

She went up to her father.

"Papa, what are they talking about?"

Her mother hugged her in her arms.

"I'm sorry Alice. Papa is gone."

"Gone? I don't get it, what are you talking about? Papa is here. He's right here! Why are you crying Mama?" Her head was overwhelmed by so many emotions, tears formed in her eyes.

Her hands reached for her fathers, she cupped them with hers.

"Why are they so cold? Papa? Papa? Wake up… Why won't you wake up? Her voice sounded weak. "Didn't you say we'd go see the flowers? Papa, you're a liar!" She shoved her mother aside.

"Alice…" Her mother muttered.

"Papa lied to me!"

A single tear rolled down from her cheek. She threw her rabbit on the ground out of rage mixed with confusion and grief, she ran out of the room and out of the house. The room grew quiet.

"Eren, could you calm her down and bring her back?" Grisha spoke.

He nodded and ran after her. He made his way to the garden, he saw her crouching down by a patch of flowers.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

_The flowers, Papa and I planted before he got sick. It's useless now, he's not here to see them. He can't see how well they've bloomed. He will never get the chance to see them.  
_

My hands grabbed as many flowers as they could. Violently, I pulled them out, I pulled every single one I could get my hands on.

"Stupid Papa! I hate you! You big fat liar!" I screamed at the top my lungs.

Tears streamed down from my face like a waterfall.

"What are you doing?!" A voice called out from behind.

I knew who it was, I could tell by his voice. I didn't bother to look up but my hands stopped.

"There's no point anymore! Papa isn't coming back! Papa… won't ever… come back." I said it between sobs and hiccups.

_That's right. Papa won't come back, he won't. I can't see his smiling face nor can I longer hear his voice, his laugh, his gentle looking emerald eyes, his warmth, I can no longer experience these things anymore._

When I realized that, my tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I covered my face with my soiled hands. Suddenly, I felt warmth enveloping me, slowly I dropped my hands to find Eren holding me.

"Eren?"

"If you want to cry, just cry. I won't laugh."

I could feel his face turning hot. A sob escaped my mouth. It hurt, it hurt so much that it suffocated me. I didn't even get to hear his last words, I'd never get the chance to because it's too late now. The emotions came bursting out of me, fat, wet and painful tears rolled down my cheeks. It was cruel but this is reality, and this is the reality I must come to face whether I want to or not.

* * *

The door creaks open, the woman turns her head to its direction. With her eyes downcast, Alice walked up to the woman. Luce took noticed of her soiled hands, knees and her pale yellow summer dress.

"What happened? You're all covered up in dirt." Luce asked.

"I'm sorry Mama… I'm so sorry."

Her tears began to flow out again. The woman embraced her, Alice buries her face into her mother's chest.

"It's alright dear. I know. I'm sorry too."

"Mama, is Alice a bad girl? Does Papa and Mama hate me now?"

"No dear. of course not. Mama and Papa both loves you very much."

* * *

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Berux. I only wished that I could have done something." Grisha said.

"Don't be silly. You've done your best. I'm truly grateful for all you've done, thank you."

"I wish you both well. Eren, say your goodbyes."

"Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye." Alice replied.

Bye-bye… those were the last words she heard from him.

* * *

"Mama. Mama!"

"Yes, dear?"

Her face was buried in documents and reports that she did not take note of her daughter.

"Mama, when can I see Eren again?"

"I'm not sure dear."

"But it's been 3 months."

"Alice… I'm busy."

She sighed.

"But you always say that."

"Alice, please!"

She sulked and left the room.

_Mama always makes the same excuse…_

* * *

**2 months later…**

"Mama what are you doing?"

Her mother stood there holding a machete in her hand.

"Alice, let's go… we're going to see Papa."

"What are you talking about Mama?"

"Come on Alice."

"But Papa isn't coming back, he died 5 months ago, remember? You've been acting weird, Mama."

"What are you saying? Papa is here. We'll be a family again." She held the machete up. "Now come here Alice."

"I don't want to..." her voice trembled.

"Don't you want to see Papa again?"

"I do…"

"Then come, let's go."

She stabs herself in her torso, blood gushes out. Her clothes were slowly dyed in crimson.

"Ma..ma… blood…"

"It's your turn now."

"No! I'm scared, you're hurt."

"It's alright, everything will be fine."

She took a step closer

"You're bleeding, we need to call a doctor. Doesn't it hurt?"

"It'll only hurt for a while."

She swung the machete at her, Alice dodges it. Alice picks herself off the ground and runs upstairs.

"Why are you running away?"

Her feet slams against the marble floor. Her eyes darted from side to side like a lizard. She could hear footsteps ascending, her heart pounds harder. She runs to her room and slams her door, she locks it and hides underneath her bed. Her trembling hands held tightly to her rabbit.

"Eren, save me. I'm scared." She cried.

"Alice… I know you're in there." A voice called out from behind the door.

She covered her ears and closed her eyes. There was nowhere left to run, she was on the second floor, there's no way that she could jump out the window. She could hear her mother calling out to her but she didn't reply.

_Help me!_

Suddenly, the machete pierced through the door. Then it was pulled out and stabbed again and again. Wood chips scattered all over the floor.

_No, I'm scared. Someone save me, anyone! Papa!_

A hand pulled through the hole and reached for the door knob.

_No one… is going to come…_

The door opened, she took a step in.

"Alice, come out."

_No, not here._

"Alice?"

_I don't want to die here!_

This was her chance, it was now or never. Her back was facing her, this was her chance to run. She rolled out from underneath her bed and she ran for the door. "Run!" It became a desperate chant for her. The machete came flying at her, she dodged it but barely, the blade made a cut in her back but she knew she couldn't stop here. She had to get away. The pain overwhelmed her, it shot through her body. The wound was not deep but a 5 year olds tolerant of pain was only that much. She landed hard on her elbows and knees. Gasping for air, she turned around but it was too late, she was cornered.

"It hurts Mama. I'm scared, stop it.

"Don't worry. Mama is here."

Her hand grabbed hold of her smaller ones. She cried out, but her breath was caught in her throat. She tried to jerk free but her grasp was too strong. She trashed her arms, struggling to free herself.

"I don't want to die!" She screamed.

"Die…"

She looks down only to notice her blood stained shirt. She drops the machete and falls on her knees, she reaches for her daughter and embraces her.

"I'm sorry Alice, I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"Mama?"

"I'm sorry." She kept repeating it, her voice gradually grew weaker and slowly it faded.

"Mama?" Her body felt cold, the familiar cold brought shivers down her spine.

"Mama? Answer me! No… don't… you can't leave me… please… don't leave me alone…"

* * *

**This is such a depressing chapter. I'm sorry I had to squeeze it all in one chapter. I'm not good in describing movements .  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update . I was sick and my parents made me go to be early so I didn't get the chance to go online. D:**

**I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN!**

* * *

Three Military Police stood at the entrance of the Victorian style house, their eyes carefully examining the exterior of the house for unusual activities.

"This is the place."

"It's quiet inside."

"Urgh, this sucks! We've been waiting here for hours! It's probably some kind of prank call."

"Shh! Shut up! It's only been 5 minutes."

"You always take things too seriously, Irene. You should learn to chill like me."

"You're too relaxed, Jack."

"What does that have to mean?"

Irritated by his two constant bickering subordinates, he decides it's time to give them a piece of his mind.

"Both of you keep your voice down."

"Y-yes sir. Are you happy now? You're always getting me into trouble." Irene whispered.

"Me?!"

Their superior gave them a warning glance, they both gave an apologetically look before nudging each other's rib. Their superior let out a sigh.

"Kids these days." He mumbled.

He turned his attention back to the door. He tries the door knob.

"The door's lock."

"Alright, on the count of 3. Just like we planned. Don't screw this up."

"Yes sir!" The two subordinates whispered in union.

"1… 2…3!"

**Slam!**

The front door broke down. They point their rifles at the entrance as their eyes scanned the area. They looked down on the floor to find blood and lots of it. The girl covered her mouth with her hands to prevent herself from gagging.

"Hurry, we can't waste any more time. Both of you scan the rooms."

"Yes sir!" they shouted before running off.

In a seconds, their voice echoed back.

"No one here sir!"

"None here either!"

"In that case they must be upstairs. Both of you stay close."

He pushed the bolt of the rifle forward until a click sound was heard then, he released it. Holding the rifle close to his chest, pointing the gun towards the floor, slowly he made his way to the stairs with his subordinates close behind him. He took a step and another, and another until he reached the top of the flight of steps. His eyes scanned across the hallway, he followed the trail of blood. Their leather boots made a thump noise as it shuffled against the marble floor, their eyes darted from side to side. The trail of blood lead them to a figure, as they got closer he realized it was a woman with a child in her hands, they rushed to their aid.

"Are you two alright?" He shouted as he ran up to them.

He bent down to touch the older woman's hand, it was cold and she had no pulse, she was dead.

"Sir, this child is still alive." Irene said watching the rhythmic up and down movement of the little girl's chest.

"Good job. Examine her for any injuries."

Irene takes a quick look at the girl.

"Only a few scratches and a small cut on her back, nothing serious."

"Alright, bring the girl along. Let's get her to the paramedics for a check-up just in case."

'Wait! She's waking up."

The three crowded around the girl. Her eyes slowly flickered open, meeting the blurry world. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light only to find a young lady hovering over her.

"Are you alright little girl?" Irene asked.

She groaned a little as she rubbed her eyes. Using her arm to prop herself up, she sat up.

"Don't worry, we're not bad guys. We're from the Military Police. See?" She said that as she showed her badge, which had a green unicorn embroidery on it to her.

"Your neighbor said they heard some loud noises and called us over, could you tell us what happened?"

She didn't respond.

"E-erm… So what's your name?"

Once again silence filled the air. The squad leader sighed.

"Come on both of you, there's no point in asking her anything now. She's probably shocked to death. Just take her and let's go back to HQ. We'll let them decide what to do with her."

"Yes sir!" Irene turned to the little girl and held out her hand. "Come one, follow big sister here. Don't worry everything is going to be alright." She grabbed the girls hand and led her to the carriage that was outside.

**Alice's POV**

A few people clad in white came rushing past me.

_Alright? Everything is going to be alright? Wait… why aren't they helping mama?_

I turned around to find the people dressed in white were wrapping my mother's body in a large cloth.

_Mama? No wait… that's right… she's dead. Just like Papa, I'm alone now. That's right… all alone. Why am I alive? Why am I the only one alive?_

I turned my attention to the girl that held my hand, she had raven colored hair. Her hand that was holding mine was warm. I could feel the heat seeping into me. It was really warm unlike my mama's and papa's.

* * *

"From our deduction, it seems that it's safe to conclude that the woman went mad and killed herself. She died of blood loss."

"Now that that's solved, what are we going to do about the girl?"

They all looked out of the window to find the little girl sitting on the bench.

"Poor thing, she still hasn't said a single word."

"I don't blame her if she doesn't say a thing for the rest of her life."

"She doesn't seem to have any relatives and so far no one has called to claim her. I guess the only thing we can do is to send her to an orphanage."

"That's too bad. She's only a kid, to lose her family at such a young age."

"Well it's not like we can do anything, contact the orphanage in Fiore. Get them to settle the paper work as soon as possible. I want to get this case over and done with."

"Wait, Fiore? Isn't that in wall Maria? Why not just send her one in wall Rose?"

"No, I think it's better if she starts fresh and besides, the countryside there is much more beautiful, it'll be a good rehabilitation for her."

"I'll go talk to her."

"Alright, don't take too long."

Irene left the room leaving the two men inside to discuss further. She walked up to the girl, Alice sat there holding a cup of tea that was given to her, it was still full. Irene took a seat next to her.

"Hey, my name is Irene. What's yours?"

She remained silent.

"Don't worry we found you a new home. It's a nice place in the country side. You can make lots and lots of new friends there."

* * *

"We thought you might want to see your parent's grave before you go."

She walked past rows of crocked, old tombstones, cracked and some covered in moss. A damp gray fog settled on everything, sending chills through the air. Finally she came up to a newer looking gravestone. She crouched down to it, on it was carved the name of her parent's. It wrote:

_Here lies Mr. Albert Berux and Mrs. Luce Berux. May you rest in peace._

Her small fingers caressed the smooth marble block, it traced them to her parents name, her fingers ran across them. She stood up.

"You done already?"

Once again she didn't respond and headed back to the carriage.

* * *

The sound of the trotting horses and the sound of the squeaky wheel filled the place as they clattered in a continuous rhythm. The bumpy road caused her to bounce off her seat occasionally. She stared out the window only to find endless blur of trees. She stuck her head out and rested her head on her crossed arm.

"We're almost there, it's just up this hill."

Irene looked at the little girl that sat in front of her. Alice wore a checkered lilac frock that had a frilly collar, her long wavy brunette hair fell over her face. In her arms she held her white rabbit. Finally, they came to a halt. The carriage door opened in front of an old cottage looking house, it was covered in vines, it had a flat roof and low wooden shacks built beside it. Children were running and playing in the yard. A plum lady around late 30s came out to greet her, she had hazel colored hair that she tied in a bun and matching colored eyes. She wore a long brown long-sleeved dress under a white laced apron.

"Welcome! You must be Alice. I've been expecting you. My name is Nina, I'm the care taker of this place." She sang as she went up to her.

She bent down and cupped Alice's face in her hand.

"My! What a beautiful child. Please come in and make yourself at home. After all, you'll be staying here from now on." She laughed at her own joke.

She took her by her hand and led her in the house. Irene ran behind them as she hulled the large suitcase. The door slammed open, it was noisy inside, so loud that you could hear the chattering from outside. Kids were running around, throwing food at each other, screaming, crying, whining and wetting themselves. It was chaos!

"Children!" Nina shouted, it attracted their attention. "We have a new member to our family. Please give a warm welcome to Alice."

There was a few applause heard in the back, all eyes were fixed on the little girl.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Nina asked.

The girl merely clutched on her rabbit and casted her eyes to the floor. Then, a long silence filled the air.

"W-well… I'll show you to your room. Come along now." Nina said as she led Alice away.

Silence was broken and hell was released once again.

"That girl was weird."

"And rude, she could have said something."

"So what do you think about the new kid? She was pretty cute, huh?"

"You're going to hit on a little girl? I didn't think you'd sink that low, Lorenzo."

"I just said that she was cute. I wouldn't mind having her as my younger sister."

"I think you must have hit your head when you fell off your bed this morning."

"Woah! Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Oh wait! You always do." He laughed at his own joke.

The raven hair boy shot him a death piercing glare. The auburn haired boy stopped, seeing that his friend was not in mood for jokes (it's not like he ever was). After all, the boy that was sitting next to them was dropping his mash potatoes on the table and didn't bother to wipe it and to make things worse, he began to pick his nose and flicked his 'findings' everywhere.

"So what about you?" The auburn haired boy asked again.

"What about it?" He answered in an annoyed tone.

"What do you think about the new kid?"

"I don't give a damn about that brat, so as long as she doesn't make a bigger mess than this place already is."

The auburn haired boy laughed.

"That's just like you, Rivaille."

* * *

**Yipee! Rivaille-sama is finally making an appearance. :3**

**Reviews are always welcomed. -winkwink-**

**Please ask if you have any questions. ^^**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hurray! Double updates! to go on a short hiatus. . **

**P.S. I don't usually do the proof reading myself but my sister went to sleep, so I had no choice but to do it myself for this two chapters. Please forgive me if I made any mistakes.**

**I do not own shingeki no kyojin!**

* * *

"Hey! Give him back!" She barked.

"Oh, so you can speak after all."

"For a moment there I thought you were mute."

The three of them laughed in sync.

"I said give him back!"

"Take him back yourself that is if you can."

One of them teased as he held the rabbit above his head and stuck his tongue out at her. She jumped but every time she did, he'd raise it higher..

"I said give him back, right now!" This time in an angrier tone, she sounded like she meant it.

"Oh! I'm so scared." they taunted her

They slapped each other a high five as they laughed.

Without warning, she gave a side kick to his shin, he yelped. He threw his hands in the air as he came tumbling to the ground to brace his foot. She took this opportunity to retrieve her plushie and made a run for it. She could hear the shrieks of the boys behind her but she ignored their furious screams.

"Hey! Get back here you peep squeak!"

She sprinted as fast as she could, she turned her head around to find the other boys were closing in behind her. Suddenly, her feet tripped on a stone and almost immediately sending her flying to the ground.

"You have some guts don't you kid? How about we teach you who's boss around here." He popped his knuckles as he said that.

He swung his leg back preparing to kick, she closed her eyes as she readied herself for the impact. Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard, a scream that wasn't hers. She slowly opened her eyes to find a raven haired boy standing before her and below his feet was one of the boys that had been chasing her.

"If you have so much time to be bullying a little girl why not spend more time in working with that girlish cry of yours or maybe clean the yard or something."

The other boy stood there in shock.

"Y-you're!" He cried.

"Your turn, huh?" He glared at him with his intimidating eyes.

"Please forgive me! I didn't mean to!"

"You call yourself a man? You don't even act like one."

"Im not a man! Please, don't hurt me!"

"You're a bunch of filthy trash. You disgust me." He scowled.

"Yes! Yes, I am trash!"

He kicked the boy that was under his feet towards his trembling companion. His friend helped him up and they both embraced each other out of fear.

"Both of you." He said it in a threatening voice.

He went up to both of them. They both pulled each other closer and they started shivering.

"Get out of my sight."

"Yes sir!" they both shouted in unison before running off with their tails between their feet.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue. "Don't they have any pride?" He mumbled.

He turned around to the girl.

"Oi. You."

"Y-yes?"

"You alright?"

"Yes!"

"What were you thinking? Picking a fight with people you can't even outrun. Just how stupid can you be?"

"I wasn't picking a fight and I'm NOT stupid." She muttered as she dusted herself off.

"What did you just say?"

"N-nothing!"

"Is that what you say to someone who just saved you from getting your ass kicked? You ungrateful little brat."

He marched up to her, he formed both of his hands into a fist and using his knuckles to rub them both against the sides of her head.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" She screamed.

She frantically trashed her hands around. Finally, he releases her and she falls back to the ground. She rubs the sides of her head.

"That hurt!"

"Not as much as it would have if I didn't come along. So where is my thank you?"

"Well. Well. Well. Look what we have here. Bullying a little girl I see." A young teen popped his head out from behind.

"I wasn't bullying her. I was saving her from getting bullied." He growled.

"Not from where I was standing." He chuckled.

He turned his attention to the girl.

"You alright, little missy?"

He offered his hand. She took it and he helped her up.

"You're Alice right? The new kid?"

She nodded.

"I also live in the orphanage. My name is Lorenzo, Lorenzo Dunios. Nice to meet you."

"Also known as the local womanizer. Be cautious of him, he has a tendency to hit on every single girl despite their age." The black haired boy added.

"Hey! That's rude!" Lorenzo said.

I guess it wasn't a surprise, he was dashing. He was tall, he towered over Alice and his friend. He was slim but well built. He had short auburn hair that was a little more reddish, it was cut with a M shaped fringed. But his most eye catching feature was his emerald eyes. He wore a long sleeved top with black trousers and matching colored suspenders that went over his shoulders.

"Whatever, let's go."

"Wait up!" Lorenzo shouted as he chased after his shorter friend.

"Wait a minute!" Alice shouted.

They stopped at their tracks and turned around.

"Erm… thank you for saving me just now."

He didn't reply.

"I said thank you!" She shouted a little louder.

"I heard you the first time."

"Oh…" She blushed.

They continued walking.

"Wait!" Alice shouted again.

"What is it this time?"

"Could I know your name?"

"It's Rivaille."

He walked off.

"Don't mind him, he's always like that. See you later!" Lorenzo said as he chased after Rivaille.

"Rivaille…" She mumbled.

* * *

The entire dining hall was filled with the sounds of forks and spoons clicking against the plate and chatter. She held a tray of food and wondered around, she found an empty seat at the corner of the room. Quietly she sat there and she at but suddenly a voice disrupted her.

"Do you mind if I joined you?" Lorenzo smiled.

She looked up to find the two boys she had met earlier. She nodded and made way for him to sit on the bench, Rivaille took a seat in front of her.

"Why are you eating here by yourself?" Lorenzo asked.

"I'm not alone. Eren's here to you know."

"Who's Eren?"

She pointed to the stuff animal that was on her lap.

"Oh you mean the rabbit?"

She nodded and she shoved a spoon of potato into her mouth.

"How pitiful." Rivaille scowled. "Don't you have any friends?"

"That's rude! For your information I do have a friend!" Alice puffed her cheeks.

"Oh really? Who?" Rivaille asked.

"Eren!"

"Isn't that your rabbit?"

"No! This is Usa-chan Eren, Eren is Eren Eren!"

"That made no sense."

"Come on guys, don't fight."

"He started it…" Alice grumbled.

"Did you say something?" Rivaille asked.

She could feel his piercing glare and she swore she saw some kind of dark aura around him.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Good."

He noticed that she was using her fork to play with the tomatoes on her plate.

"Stop playing with your food."

"I'm not! I don't want to hurt Mr. Tomato."

"Lair."

She puffed her cheek.

"Eat it!" He commanded.

"I don't like tomatoes, they're sour and gooey." She whined.

"In that case, you probably don't want this either."

Using his fork, he stabbed a strawberry from her plate and devoured it.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!"

She stood up angrily.

"You left it on your plate like that, how am I supposed to know?"

"So you're a type of person who leaves your favorite food for last, huh?" Lorenzo said to lighten the mood.

"Rivaille, you're a big meanie!" Ignoring Lorenzo's desperate attempt to calm her.

"Oh really?"

"H-hey! Look Alice." He waved a strawberry in front of her. "You can have mine, alright?" He said.

"Fine…" she grumbled as she ate it.

"Phew." Lorenzo said as he sunk back in his chair.

"Here. In exchange you can have this." She placed a tomato on his plate.

"Alice. Eat. It" Rivaille glared.

"I don't want to!" She whined.

"Eat it or I'll shove it down your throat."

She stared at the red fruit like it's her biggest enemy. (Yes. A tomato is a fruit not a vegetable) She pierced it, slowly but reluctantly she ate it. She scrunched her eyes together, and she quickly swallowed it. She grabbed the glass of water and she gulped it down.

"See? It wasn't so bad was it?" Rivaille asked.

"It was horrible!" She said as she slammed the glass on the table.

"But tomatoes are good for you." Lorenzo said.

"No it's not! It turns you into a balloon and you'll explode!"

"Don't be ridiculous." Rivaille said.

"It's true. One day you'll see."

Lorenzo burst into laughter.

"I'm being serious here! The human race will be because obliterate because of people like you."

"So what else do you hate?" Rivaille asked.

"Celery." She answered immediately.

"Celery? I guess they have a strong taste." Lorenzo said.

"I hate them even more than tomatoes. The celeries and tomatoes are probably conspiring to destroy the human race. They've disguise themselves as harmless looking vegetables to deceive people. Truly frightening." She shuddered. "But fear not. I will never fall for such trickery."

Lorenzo laughed again.

"That's quite an imagination you have there." He said as he pat her on her head.

"I know it's out of the topic but you know you really seem like an older brother type."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have any siblings?"

She shook her head.

"How about you?" She asked.

"Nope." He answered. "Well, at least not any more…" He muttered.

"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.

"So how about I be your older brother?"

"Really?"

"Sure!"

"Okay!"

"Then from today onwards you can call me Lorenzo-nii."

"Lorenzo-nii-chan?"

"Wait, what's up with the –chan?"

"Why not? It sounds cuter."

"Alright."

"Gross. If you're going to display your love, do it somewhere else. I'm still eating here." Rivaille said.

"Don't mind him, Lorenzo-Nii-chan. He's just jealous." Alice said.

Rivaille scoffed.

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you don't have a cute little sister?" Lorenzo said.

"Why would I even want one in the first place?"

Alice burst into laughter.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" Rivaille asked.

"I'm sorry." She wiped her tears off while holding back her laughter.

Lorenzo looked at her with a kind expression.

"You finally laughed." He smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so." She smiled back.

* * *

**-Omake-**

_The next day…_

"Alice!" Nina called out.

"Yeah?"

"Today, I made something special."

"Oh really? What is it?"

"Ta-da!"

She spun around holding a bowl of…. No! Oh anything but!

"I heard from Rivaille that you loved tomatoes and celery! So I made tomato and celery salad!"

She stared at it in disbelieve.

"Go on eat up! There's a lot more from where that came from. I made lots so we can have it for dinner tonight too, alright?"

That day, a little part of Alice died inside.

* * *

**-Omake#2-**

"Hey, Alice." Lorenzo called out.

"Yeah?"

"You want to get back at Rivaille, right?"

"You're going to help me?"

"Sort of. I'll tell you a little secret."

"What is it?"

"Come here, lend me your ear."

"Rivaille has OCCD (Obsessive Compulsive Cleaning Disorder)."

"Really?!"

He nodded.

"Rivaille." She sniffed. "How pitiful. I should treat him a little nicer."

"W-wait Alice! I think you're misunderstanding something."

Alice ran off without listening to Lorenzo. In a few moment Rivaille came downstairs.

"Oi. Lorenzo. Alice just told me that if anything was bugging me I could tell her. If you're giving her weird ideas about me, I recommend you to stop."

"Er.. about that…"

"Shh!" Alice covered Lorenzo's mouth with her hand. "He probably doesn't want to talk about it" She whispered. "I'm going to go clean your room now. See you later!" (Lorenzo and Rivaille stays in the same room, I know what you're thinking fangirls)

"What did you tell her?" Rivaille glares at Lorenzo.

"I think that Alice thought that OCCD was some sort of serious illness…"

* * *

**Lorenzo is some what an important character in this arc. He's the same age as Rivaille, so he's around 18? **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Surprise! Double update! It's short but it's to make up for the days that i'm unable to update.**

**I don't own shingeki no kyojin!**

* * *

The wind whistled through the windows and made the panes rattle. The silvery glow of the moon washes in through the fluttering white cotton curtains. Her eyes fluttered opened and was instantly greeted by the bright moon light, it shone on her face, it felt like she was staring into a flashlight. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, she used her pajama's sleeve to wipe if off. She tried resting her arm over her eyes, but her arm fell asleep. She sunk further down her bed, she looked around the room. It wasn't just the hard and lumpy bed or the scratchy pillow but the room was something that she still couldn't get used to. Sometimes, she thinks that it was all just a dream and when she wakes up she's be in her warm bed at home, but of course she knew that that wasn't going to happen. She looked out the windows and stared at the swaying pine trees in the distant, she closed her eyes. She rolled over to her sides and pulls the sheet up over her head.

* * *

The wind was exceptionally loud today but he wasn't woken up by the howling wind, no, he was woken up by footsteps. Soft, shuffling footsteps. At first he thought he was hearing things but then he heard them again. He forced his eyes open, he groaned. He rolled around to find his auburn friend sleeping soundly next to him. At that moment, for just a split second, he saw a shadow at the corner of his eye, a shadow dancing on the dark walls. He turned his attention to the door, it was slightly opened.

"Rivaille?" A whisper came through the door.

He groaned.

"Are you asleep?" Alice pushed the door open a little wider, she stuck her head through the gap.

"I am now." He grumbled. "What do you want at this hour?"

He propped himself on the bed with one hand. She came into the room and went up to his bed.

"I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He noticed that in her hand she was hugging on to her stuff animal and her pillow.

"No. Go back to your own room." He rolled over.

"But I can't sleep. Please? Just one night?" She whispered not wanting to wake Lorenzo up.

"I said no. Just go back to sleep. You'll fall asleep sooner or later." His voice muffled through the pillow.

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because… because I'm scared."

"Of what? The dark? The boogey man?"

"No!"

"Then what?" He turned around to find that she was nearly in tears.

"I had a bad dream…"

"You still can't sleep here. Come on. I'll bring you back to your room."

He threw the covers off, his feet came to contact with the cold wooden floor. He grabbed her hand and led her outside. The living room looked eerie at night, the moonlight casted long blue shadows over it. He led her up the stairs, he held on to the banister. Slowly, they made their way up the narrow and steep stairs, the stairs creaked and groaned at every step. Finally they made it up, at the end of the long hallway was another fleet of steeps that was narrower that the one before it had no railings, he held on to both sides of the wall and went up. On top of it was the attic, it was a small room and cramped room. It had a small bed, a chest of drawers that was also used as a table occasionally and a chair. That was all it could fit, that was Alice's room, the only perk was that she didn't have to share the room.

"Lie." He commanded her in a one word sentence like she was a dog but she obeyed him.

She pulled the sheets up to her neck, he was about to leave but Alice grabbed hold of his sleeve.

"Don't go… I'm scared."

"Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

"I'm scared!"

He turned around to face her, she didn't let go.

"Look around you. There's nothing to be afraid of, if something happens just scream, someone is bound to come up."

She shook her head.

"I'm scared of falling asleep."

"It's just a dream. It happens."

"I dreamt about Mama and Papa. I'm scared, what if I wake up and everyone disappears again."

Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"So please… don't go."

Her hand tugged on to his sleeve even harder. He gave a loud sigh.

"Fine."

"You'll sleep with me?"

"No but I will stay here until you do."

She loosen her grip, he grabbed the chair and placed it next to her bed. He sat on it crossed legged and folded his arms.

"Go on sleep."

"Will you still be here when I wake up?"

"Yes. I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go to sleep."

She smiled and wiped her tears away.

"Ok. Can you hold my hand?"

She stuck her hand out from under the cover.

"Alright."

He took hers and she held on to it.

"That's good that you're hands are warm."

He had a puzzled look on his face but he didn't bother to ask about it.

"Night." She said.

"Good night."

* * *

She opened her eyes, the yellow sunshine streamed through the windows. She turned her head to find Rivaille's head resting at the edge of her bed, his dead laid on his crossed arm. She took a closer look at his sleeping face, it was a side of him that she had never seen. He looked so innocent and somewhat adorable as he slept. She muffled her fingers through his black hair. She realized that her hands were still entwined with his. His hands were big, well you're comparing a 5 year olds and a 18 year olds, so it was pretty obvious. She smiled.

"You kept your promise."

* * *

**Finally, some small development. -winkwink-**

**Just to let you know the layout of the house. Rivaille and Lorenzo shares a room on the ground floor. The older kids live on the ground floor while the younger kids live on the next floor, in Alice's case, she stays in the attic as the orphanage is kind of full.**

**Reviews are always appreciated! :3**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello readers :3 I'm back from my vacation and examinations are over. It took me awhile to type this out, so forgive me (my longest chapter yet). D: I was so sad when shingeki ended . NOO! RIVAILLE! WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO WITH MY LIFE NOW?! and I have to wait another 1-2 weeks for the manga to update?!**

**P.S. I started watching hetalia. OMG GERMANY! -nosebleed- PASTA!**

* * *

"Alice dear!" A voice called out from the kitchen.

Alice hopped inside, the plum lady was holding a spatula in one hand and a frying pan in the other. She wore a large apron and a bandana.

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a favor?"

She nodded.

"I was thinking of making apple pie for tea, but my hands are full at the moment. Could you help me pick some apples?"

She nodded again.

"Great! There are a few trees on top of the small hill, you know the one beside the lake? The trees are too high for you to reach so I'll get some of the boys to help you. The basket's in the shed, here's the key to it. Jake, Harry! Come here and give Alice a hand."

"Eh? I don't want to!"

"Boys!" She said in a firm voice.

"Fine!" They grumbled.

They came into the kitchen. They were the same boys from that day. After getting a beating from Rivaille, they didn't even dare to lay a finger on her.

"Good. Now off you go."

The two led her to the shed.

"Here's the shed." They pointed to it. "Alright, now we're leaving."

"B-but Aunt Nina asked you to help."

"Huh?! Can't you do it yourself? You've already given us enough trouble!"

"How am I supposed to reach it?"

"How would I know? Figure that out yourself!" He pushed her down.

They snickered as they left. She picked herself up and dust the dirt off her skirt. She takes out the key and unlocks the wooden shed door, she pushes it open. She found the large basket sitting in the corner, she began to drag the basket up the hill. She looked up to find the rosy colored fruits hanging on the branches. She jumped in an attempt to grab one of them. Not even close. She tried again, her finger brushed against one but it seemed like it was teasing her, knowing that she could never reached it like this. She ran back to the shed to find something that could help her. There was a ladder leaning against the wall but it was too heavy for her to even move it. She saw an empty wooden barrel that was as tall as her.

_That could work!_

She pushed it to its side and began rolling it up hill. She stood it back up and tried to climb on top of it but it was too tall. She sighed.

_I'm sure that those guys won't help me, and I'd get in trouble if I told on them. Wait! What am I saying? I don't want help from people like that. Yeah! That's right, I can do this myself. I'll show them!_

She nodded. She tried pulling herself up again but it was no use. She let out another sigh and leaned her head against the barrel.

"What are you doing here sighing like an old lady?"

She turns her head around to find a familiar face.

"Rivaille?!"

"I'm here too you know?"

"Lorenzo-nii?!"

"Yo! What are you doing?" Lorenzo said.

"I was sent to pluck apples but…"

"You can't reach them, huh?"

She nodded shyly.

"Shorty." Rivaille snorted.

"I don't think you have the rights to say that…"

Rivaille shot him a death glare.

"H-here, let me help you." Lorenzo offered.

"No! I'll do it myself! Aunt Nina asked me, I can't ask someone else to do it for me."

"A hard worker, huh?"

"You should learn from her and stop slacking off." Rivaille said.

"Stop that Rivaille! What will I do if Alice thinks of me as a lazy guy who just sleeps all day and flirts with girls?"

"Well isn't that the truth?"

"… you have a point there. Wait. Why am I getting myself all depress now?"

"I don't think you're useless!" Alice said.

"Thanks for cheering me up."` He pat her head.

"Hey, didn't you say that you had something to do?"

"Ah! I nearly forgot!" Alice exclaimed.

"Don't worry about that, I'll help you."

"No!"

"You're pretty stubborn aren't you?" Lorenzo asked.

"Yup!"

"Alright, in that case. Here we go!" He lifted her up and dropped her on top of the barrel. "If you need anything just call out alright? We'll be taking a nap over there."

"Okay!"

"By we you mean yourself, right?" Rivaille asked.

Rivaille and Lorenzo settled themselves under a tree nearby. They started talking (or at least Lorenzo was and Rivaille was pretending to listen, making a few grunts every now and then.)

She looked up to find the apples in reach, tiptoeing a little, she reached out to a ripe looking apple. She tugged it hard enough for it to break off from its branch, she smiled at it proudly and threw it in the basket. She continued to pick more. Finally, she had managed to fill up half of the basket, she beamed at her hard work. She decided to pick a few more for Lorenzo and Rivaille as a thanks for helping her. She spotted a bright red apple, the biggest of them all. It looked shiny as the sun shone on it. She decided that she'd give that one to Rivaille, as thanks for saving her the first time they met (and she still thinks that Rivaille has some sort of illness that prevents him from growing taller). It was placed slightly higher than the others, so she had to jump.

_Almost there!_

Her fingers grazed its waxy skin, she jumped again this time with her eyes scrunched up. She opened them again to find an apple in her hand. Just as she landed back on the barrel, well actually she didn't. Instead she fell right through, she landed in the barrel with a thud. That was the least of her worries, the barrel began to shake and it fell over, causing it to roll downhill.

_"What a peaceful day…_" Rivaille thought.

But his thoughts were disrupted by screaming.

"Help me!" Alice shouted as the barrel (along with Alice) came tumbling down at lightning speed (or at least she felt it was)

"Doesn't that kind of sound like…" Lorenzo spoke.

They turned their heads in sync to find a barrel rolling their way. Rivaille dodged it but Lorenzo was too slow and the barrel slammed into his face which caused him to pass out in seconds but his beautiful face was not enough to stop the barrel's rampage. It began to roll towards the river.

"Help! I'm getting dizzy!" Alice shouted again.

Instinctively, Rivaille ran after it but the barrel tripped on a rock and sent it and it's contents which was a 5 year old, flying in the water.

Splash!

She came out gasping for air, her hands flew everywhere, desperately trying to stay afloat. Rivaille jumped in to save her but realized that the water barely reached up to his waist.

"Alice, calm down. You can stand."

"Huh?" She stood up. "Oh! You're right!"

Grabbing her by the back of her dress he carried her and dropped her back on dry land.

"Look what you've done. Sheesh, my clothes are dirty now."

"I-I'm sorry. Here." She took out the apple she had been clinging on to.

"You expect me to eat that? The river is used for daily activities like washing their asses or something."

She looked as if she was about to cry. He sighed.

"Make sure you wash it before giving it to me."

She looked up and smiled.

"Ok!"

"Now, I need to go back and bathe but before that." He grabbed his unconscious friend by the collar. "Help me wake up this piece of shit over here." She began to violently shake the auburn. "Oi! Wake up! How long do you plan on sleeping here?"

Alice went up to his side.

"Lorenzo-nii? Loreno-nii-chan! Wake up!" Panic struck her voice. "You can't die!"

"Hey hey… don't go killing me off." He wiped away her tears. He propped himself up and rubbed his head, there was a small bump there.

"You alright?"

"Of course I am, I won't die that easily."

He got up and they carried the basket back home. They came in through the back door.

"Welcome bac… What happened to you two? Why are you both soaked?" Nina exclaimed.

Rivaille headed straight for a bath.

"Here you go, I'll set them here." Lorenzo set the basket down. "Anything that I can help with?"

"Nope."

"How about a massage?"

"No thanks."

In all his life, Nina was the only woman he could not charm.

"Alice you should dry yourself off before you catch a cold. You can help me knead the dough once you're done."

"Alright!"

She wasn't very good at it but she took a liking in cooking. She ran upstairs and disappeared. After her bath, she put on a clean set of clothes. After looking in the long mirror, she went downstairs. As she made her way into the kitchen a voice called out to her.

"Hey you." Rivaille said as he stood by the door.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you know the meaning of drying your hair?"

"It's fine. It'll dry off by itself."

"It's NOT fine. Come here, I'll dry if for you."

"Eh? But that's just troublesome."

"I'm the one who's troubled, so come here right now."

"Fine…" She wined.

Reluctantly, she went into his room.

"Sit." He pointed out to the chair.

Obediently, she hopped on it and sat still.

"Sheesh, if you're not going to dry your own hair. Why do you even keep it this long?"

"Mama or the maids helped me tie it up."

"Tch. Spoilt brat." He mumbled.

She puffed her cheeks but didn't say anything. He took out a brush and began to comb her hair.

"Ouch!"

"Stop squirming and stay still."

"That hurt!"

"It wouldn't hurt so much if you combed it in the first place. If you can't look after your hair, you mind as well not have any."

"Y-you're not gonna cut it or anything right?"

"I'm not, you idiot!"

He began combing her hair with his fingers and gathering them, he tied them in a neat ponytail.

"There done."

She looked in the mirror. Not a single strand of hair was out of place.

"Oh, it looks good. Thank you, Rivaille." She smiled.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I just don't want any of your hair in my food. Now leave." (OMG! Rivaille's a tsundere!)

"I'm leaving!" She stuck her tongue out at him and ran off.

Her footsteps pounded through the hallways. He went up to his bed and laid back down on his creaseless bed. After a few moments, he heard another pair of footstep coming closer, eventually his door swung open.

"There you are! Stop lazing around and help me with the chores." Lorenzo said.

"Leave me alone."

Lorenzo pulled out the chair, he rested his chin on his folded arms.

"You know, you're being awfully nice to her."

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, Alice of course."

Rivaille didn't reply.

"Any reason for it?"

"I'm not particularly being nice to her."

"You sure about that? It seems pretty obvious to me." He let out a small gasp. "Could it be?! You have fee-"

"Of course not! How could I have feelings for that brat? And besides she's just a kid."

"Then what's the reason?"

"I told you, I'm not treating her indifferently."

"You've taken a liking to her? Well, I'm not surprise. She's a good girl after all."

"Stop blabbering nonsense."

"Is it because you feel sorry for her?"

"Everyone here is under the same circumstances."

"It was the same with me too."

"Your circumstances are as different as heaven and earth."

"… You had it rough too. It's just like you… You always looked out for the weak. Maybe that's why we were able to be such good friends."

"You're not weak, Lorenzo."

Lorenzo let out a small chuckle.

"Yes, I am. If I had to say you're defiantly stronger than me. You're stronger than anyone else."

"Hey, don't get all sentimental and mushy. It's disgusting you know?"

Lorenzo laughed again.

"That's true. It's not like me, huh? I always knew that behind your short, violent, rebellious, abusive, clean freak, bad mouthing façade, you were always a nice guy."

"I can make do without those insults." Rivaille shot him a glare.

"But that won't be any fun would it?" He got up. "Well, I'm going to weed the garden. Make sure you do your part too or you'll get scolded." He left the room.

Outside the corridor he could hear a few boys whispering.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Don't be a chicken!"

"Shh! She's coming."

_Finally, some peace and quiet…_

Suddenly, he heard a storm of footsteps banging hard against the floorboards, the door swung open with a loud bang.

**Slam!**

"Rivaille!" Alice burst in with tears filled in her eyes. Her hand clutched tightly to her rabbit.

_I knew it wouldn't last…_

"What is it this time?"

"Eren… Eren's ear broke!"

"Huh?"

"See?" She shoved the rabbit into his face.

Rivaille pushed it away with one hand and examined it. One of it's ears was almost completely ripped off and it's stuffing was expose.

"Eren's gonna die!" She started sobbing.

"Shut up, it's not dying! Don't cry over such a small matter."

She sniffed and dried her tears.

"Here." He held out his hand. "Give it to me."

"Can you fix him?" She said as she dried the last of her tears.

"It's not that bad. Fetch the sewing kit. It's in that drawer."

She nodded and began rummaging through his stuff.

"Hey! Don't mess anything up."

She nodded again and gently took out some of the things, she spotted a small sewing kit and took it out, she placed everything back the way she remembered and ran up to Rivaille, she passed it to him. He inspected the ear once more and began to thread the needle. Slowly and carefully he began to seem the torn parts back. She sat on the edge of his bed and she quietly waited. Suddenly, Lorenzo came barging in.

"Argh! So tired."

"Welcome back, Lorenzo-nee."

"Oh, Alice what are you doing here?"

"Rivaille is helping me fix Eren."

"Oh, I see his ear came off but I'm surprise though. You usually take such good care of it."

"I didn't break it! It was fine when I left him in the room."

"Here. Take it." Rivaille said as he tossed the rabbit to her.

She inspected it, the colour of the thread was different so it stood out but other than that he did a pretty good job.

"Thank you, Rivaille!"

"That rabbit is important to you, right? So make sure you take good care of it." Lorenzo said.

"Yeah! I'm going to put him back now. See ya!"

She said as she happily ran out the room. Rivaille got off his bed and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Lorenzo asked.

"Out for some air." He closed the door behind him.

"You're so dishonest." Lorenzo laughed. "Try not to kill them."

* * *

**This arc is pretty long because Alice spends most of her life here ._. but don't worry, there are only a few more fillers and one last arc before the real romance start! So till then please bear with me. m(_ _)m**

**Spoiler alert! In the next chapter, it's going to be focused on Lorenzo. Originally, I felt Lorenzo was a great side character but when I started writing him out... but what do you think about him?**


	11. Chapter 10

**I don't usually do this because I always forget but today I shall answer a questions. The most popular question right now is the age difference. Yes! There is a really big difference of 13 years but I think love can overcome anything. :3 My grandparents are 11 years difference, so in my opinion I don't think that age really matters and besides it's not like he's going to fall in love with a 5 year old, he'll only start falling for her when she's a lot older (but still OMG Rivaille you PEDO!). Eren and Rivaille are 14 years difference but I know most of you fujoushis still ship them 8D ERERI FTW! -runs-**

* * *

"Are you really going?"

Rivaille and Lorenzo turned around to find Alice running after them. She stood there for a moment to catch her breath.

"Is it true that you two are really going?" Alice asked again.

"Yeah. We're going to get firewood, want to come along?" Lorenzo asked.

"Yes! Wait, no."

"So you don't want to come?"

"Yes! I mean yes I want to go but that's not what I was talking about. I heard from Nina that you guys are leaving."

"Oh that. Well we're already too old, the orphanage can't afford to keep us any longer and besides the place is getting too cramped."

"So you're really leaving?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Probably next week."

"Next week?! So soon?"

"I'm really sorry, we meant to tell you earlier."

"No!"

"Huh?"

"No! You can't go!"

"Bu-"

"Both of you can't go! You can't leave!"

"Alice…"

"You can't because I say so!"

"Stop all these nonsense." Rivaille who was quiet all this while spoke.

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I don't want you to go…" She started sobbing.

Lorenzo bent down and pat her head.

"You know it's not like we'll never see each other ever again."

"Really?"

"Yeah, even if we leave we were planning to stay somewhere nearby. So, that means we can come visit you when we're free."

"Promise?"

"Of course. Right Rivaille?" He turned to his friend.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Come on, don't say that. We can't leave our little sister behind can we?"

"Who'd want a snotty brat sister like her?"

"That's right! I don't want an older brother like him! Besides, he's more of a mother than a brother." Alice teased.

"What did you just say?" Rivaille glared at her.

Lorenzo burst out into laughter.

"What are you laughing at idiot?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that what she said was so true."

"I dare you to repeat that." Rivaile threatened.

A dark murderous aura surrounded him.

"But it's true!" Lorenzo said.

"Why you!"

"Come on, let's stop playing around. We need to get back to work."

"Lorenzo, you piece of shit. Don't change the subject."

Lorenzo began running into the woods nonchalantly.

"When I catch you I'm going to beat you into a bloody pulp." Rivaille said that and began chasing after his auburn friend.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Alice held onto her straw hat, making sure it didn't fall off her head as she chased after them.

* * *

**A few days later…**

"Where are we going?" Alice asked.

"Somewhere special." Lorenzo replied.

"Why do I have to keep my eyes closed and why am I riding on your back?" She asked again.

"Because it's a surprise."

"How much further?" She grumbled.

"Just shut up! We're almost there." Rivaille said in a disgruntled tone.

"But you said that 10 minutes ago!"

"Lorenzo, just dump the kid."

"Both of you just calm down. I know! Let's play a game."

"What are you 7?" Rivaille asked.

"I'm 6!" Alice replied.

"It's a metaphor." Rivaille replied.

"Alright! So are we playing the game or what?" Lorenzo asked.

"I wanna play!" Alice shouted.

"Hey, keep your eyes closed." Rivaille said.

"Eh?! But it's boring."

"You know what will be a good game?" Rivaille asked.

"What?"

"Who can keep quiet the longest." Rivaille said.

"Eh? That's not fun!"

"How about you try to guess where we are?" Lorenzo asked.

"How am I going to do that with my eyes closed?"

"You can try."

"Hm, ok."

She closed her eyes tighter and concentrated, perking her other senses. She sniff the air.

"I smell pine, I can hear birds, I feel like I'm going to fall off. We're in a forest, walking up hill!"

"Not bad. Quite the detective, aren't you?"

"Hehe."

"Oh we're here!"

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Sure."

Slowly she opened her eyes, first to be greeted by the blinding blaze of the sun, she squinted and slowly opening her eyes to find a huge field of colors. Her eyes sparkled with awe she was speechless.

"Wah! So pretty! There's so many flowers!"

Slowly, Lorenzo let her down.

"Want to go check it out?" Lorenzo asked.

She nodded with a smile on her face.

"Race you there." Alice said as she ran down hill.

"Hey no fair, you had a head start!" Lorenzo said as he ran after her.

"Tch, kids." Rivaille clicked his tongue as he walked towards the field of flowers but just for a short moment something like a smile was formed on his face.

"There's so many different flowers here!" She said as she began running through the sunflower fields.

They were so tall that she was instantly invisible as she moved around, they only way to spot her was through the swaying flowers.

"Hey Alice come here." Rivaille shouted.

Alice popped her head out between some flowers.

"What?" She said as she hurried to his side.

"Here." He placed a flower standing up on her hat.

"What's this for? I'm not a pot!"

"It'll be a pain if you get lost. With this we can find you."

"Eh?"

"Now that you mention it, your head does look like a pot."

"You big meanie!"

"Now run along now."

"Well, Well, you have weird hair!" (the best insult she could think of) Alice said as she ran away.

She disappeared into the patch of flowers again, but this time a flower that was constantly wiggling through the tall flowers was easily spotted.

"Rivaille!" Lorenzo shouted with fear.

"What is it? You're being noisy."

"You won't believe it! I-I think I ju-just saw a possessed flower! Look it's moving on its own!"

"That's Alice you idiot."

"Oh… What?! Alice is possessing a flower?"

"No! I stuck it on her hat so that she doesn't get lost. Just how dumb can you be?"

Lorenzo mumbled as he laid on the grass, he started gazing at the sky. The clouds slowly drifting freely in the big blue sky. He didn't know when but he soon drifted into slumber and into the realms of dreams.

* * *

**Lorenzo's POV**

_Onii-chan!_

It was a familiar voice, all too familiar.

_Lyanna?_

_Onii-chan… it hurts… Onii-chan…_

_Hang in there! I won't let you die. Lyanna stay with me._

_Onii-chan, promise me one thing…_

_Hey, don't say stuff like that. You're going to be just fine._

_Please from now on… live for yourself… for my sake._

_What are you talking about?_

_Thank you, Onii-chan… for protecting me… for everything… I love y..ou…_

_Lyanna? Lyanna?! No! Don't leave me! Please open your eyes… I don't want to be alone… I don't have anyone else…_

"Lorenzo! Lorenzo!" A voice called my name in the far distance, it got louder each time. Until I finally snapped out of it. A shadow of my friend hovered over me as I slowly opened my eyes.

"What?" I moaned, my voice sounded hoarse after waking up.

"Are you alright?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"You were talking in your sleep again."

"I'm fine."

"You were crying too."

"S-shut up." I said as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I was a grown man, it was embarrassing for someone to see me cry.

"Is it the same dream again?"

"Yeah…"

"You know, I don't really know about the details but you shouldn't blame yourself. I'm sure she'll be upset if she saw you moping around like this."

"Yeah, I know."

"Anyways." He got up and dusted the dirt off his pants, he turned to me. "Let's go home it's getting late."

"Yeah. Let's get Alice." I got up from the ground. "Alice! We're going home now!" I shouted.

There was no reply.

_Maybe she didn't hear me._

I shouted again but once again I was replied with silence. My heart began to quicken.

"Alice?" I called out, this time my voice was shaking.

"Lorenzo?" Rivaille looked at me with a worried expression.

My feet started running, toward the direction of where Alice should have been. My heart beat gradually got faster, cold sweat started trickling down my face. I began pushing aside the flowers and frantically screaming her name. I felt a hand grab my shoulder, I spun around.

"Lorenzo. Calm down. We'll find her."

But I ignored his advice, my voice was starting to crack, tears were forming in my eyes. My face had a panic expression plastered on it.

"Boo!" Alice shouted as she popped out.

I stared at her frozen for a while. She giggled.

"Scared you, didn't I?"

Without uttering a word, I ran up to her and embraced her.

"Lorenzo-nii, I can't breathe." She muffled.

"Where the hell did you run off to?" Rivaille said in an angry tone.

"Don't ever do that!" I shouted, I don't know why but I did.

"I'm sorry. I only wanted to surprise you." She said as she buried her face into my chest.

"It's alright but don't do that ever again." Slowly I released my grip on her.

"Lorenzo-nii, why are you crying?"

"Eh?" I touched my face, true enough there were tears streaming down my face. Her small hands gently wipe them away.

"I'm really sorry. I won't do it ever again, so don't cry any more. Alright?"

"Alice you're a really good girl. You really remind me of someone."

She stared at me in confusion.

"Come on let's go. It's getting dark."

"Yup! I'm sure Aunt Nina is worried."

We started walking out towards the hill.

"Lorenzo-nii."

"Yeah?"

She lifted her hands up.

"Carry me. I'm too tired to walk."

"Alright. Hop on." I bent down and put her on my back.

"You're spoiling her, Lorenzo."

"It's fine, she played all day I'm sure she's tired."

* * *

After walking a for a few minutes. Lorenzo looked back on his shoulder.

"She fell asleep. She must be really tired."

"Hey, Lorenzo." Rivaille spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Stop for a moment."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Alright."

Rivaille went up to Lorenzo. He pulled out the flower that was still stuck on to Alice's hat and tucked her hair behind her ears and placed it in behind her ears. Then he started walking again.

"Ho. She does look really cute like that."

"Don't get the wrong idea, it just looked so ridiculous that I couldn't stand it."

"So why did you put it in her hair?" Lorenzo teased.

Rivaille walked away, ignoring his question.

* * *

**I can't think of anything else to say, so bye-bye everyone. Reviews are always welcomed :3 and also don't be afraid to ask any questions, I'll answer them all (If I remember). :D**

**Oh wait! There is a question I need to ask everyone. How old do you need to be to join the Trainee Squad? I deduced it to about 12-13 years old but then again I'm stupid so I might be wrong ._. Please tell me if you know the answer. . You can either PM me the answer or type it in the reviews.**


	12. Chapter 11

**First of all, I want to thank everyone for answering my question last week. I appreciate everyone who took the trouble to answer it. Next, I'm going to answer another question. :3 It's another common question. "When will Eren see Alice again?". I'll try not to spoil too much, you see Eren is unaware that Alice is no longer living within Wall Rose and they probably won't meet until they're a lot older. How old you ask? That I can't say. . and don't worry this arc has another few more chapters before it ends. :D One more small arc that will probably last for 3 chapters or less and the real development begins. Hehehe... Until then please continue to support my story m(_ _)m**

* * *

"Tomorrow huh?" Lorenzo sighed as he packed a pair of folded trousers into his suitcase which he laid on his bed. "It's been 6 years, time sure flies."

"We're finally leaving this dump." Rivaille said.

"You say that but you're actually pretty sad aren't you? We made a lot of good memories here after all. Remember the time you were trying to get away from doing chores and you fell asleep while hiding and didn't realize that the bush next to you was a poison ivy and you had rashes that lasted for a week. That was so funny."

"Lorenzo."

"Yeah?"

"That was you."

"It was?"

"Yes! We had to strap your hands to the bed to prevent you from scratching yourself, remember?"

"Oh yeah… but it was still a good memory other than the itching and all. It's a shame that we have to leave."

Silence fell between them, their backs faced each other without uttering another word.

"Hey…" Lorenzo started again as he shut his suitcase close.

"What is it?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

"What? If you're talking about the fact that you're an idiot, don't worry I already knew that 6 years ago."

"You're harsh as usual." He smiled but it slowly faded to a serious expression. "I still haven't told you what happened."

Rivaille took a seat on his bed signaling that he was listening which was not something he did often but seeing the seriousness in the auburn's eyes. He knew that something was up.

"I told you once, a long time ago about my past didn't I?"

"Yeah. Your dad killed your mom and your sister died." Rivaille answered.

"Yeah but that's only a short summary. My father was a drunkard, a bad one at that. He also loved to gamble, we were already poor as it is. Every day he goes out to gamble, he sucked at it and lost a lot of money. When he came home he'd always be in a bad mood and he'd beat my mom up if he doesn't get enough booze. My mom did her best and took on a lot of jobs to satisfy him, she always protected us. She let herself get beat up while we hid in the cardboard. But then, things got harder when a plague infested our town and many people died, money was even harder to come by. One day, that drunkard came home, he started babbling stuff about selling me off as a slave to get money. My mom protested and they started arguing. It all happened so fast, he grabbed one of the empty wine bottles and I think you can guess what happens next."

"You didn't report it to the police?" (He's referring to the Military Police)

"No, he threatened me. If I did he'd have killed my sister, Lyanna. We hid my mom's body. What pissed me off was that that man wasn't sad or anything. Instead, he was complaining about how he had lost his income, we hated him but we had nowhere else to go. I spent my days working odd jobs and nights underground."

"Underground?" Rivaille asked.

"You've heard rumors haven't you? The underground city? The world that becomes active when the sun sets. Those rumors are true. I've been there to pick-pocket and to join tournaments."

"Tournaments? What kind?"

"Every night, spectators bet on one of the fighters and the winner gets the cash. No rules nothing, as long as your opponent can no longer stand you win."

"You've done it before?"

"Of course, I needed money to protect Lyanna. Ever since my mom died, he vented all his anger out on me. I'm sure you've seen the scars, I manage to get her out of father's way but then she got sick. That man couldn't care less if she died, I didn't have enough money to get a doctor. Then, one day, we woke up and that man and his stuff were gone. We found out that he borrowed a lot of money and couldn't return it. They took the house, everything but I wasn't enough. We were thrown out in the streets and we ran away from the debt collectors. A few months passed and Lyanna's condition got worse and she died. Eventually, I too found myself withering off in the streets but then someone saved me. It was Nina, she picked me up and took care of me. I only wished that Lyanna could have been saved too."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"A few months ago, I learned that Nina have been paying off my debts for years. They found out that she was hiding me here. She paid them so that they wouldn't bother me. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to pay off the debt myself and eventually pay Nina back too."

"And where are you going to find that much money?"

"I'm going to start working underground again."

Rivaille's eyes opened in shock.

"Are you serious about this?" Rivaille asked.

"Yeah, it's the only way. So that means our dream of staying together has to wait. So I'm sorry but could you wait for a few years?" Lorenzo put on his usual assuring smile. (this sounds like some sort of confession XD)

"You idiot. Do you know how dangerous that is? I knew you were stupid but not this stupid."

"What other choice do I have? I'll never pay it back if I go for normal jobs and besides I'm used to it. I know I don't look like it but I'm pretty strong you know?"

"Don't screw with me you think I'll let you do this alone?" Rivaille said as he punched his friend.

"Ouch that hurt! Wait! Does that mean."

"Of course! Who's going to keep you out of trouble?"

"B-but it's dangerous!"

"Exactly my point. If I'm not there with you who knows what idiotic things you'll do, you'd probably end up dead in mere seconds.

"No, Rivaille. You can't. This debt is mine to pay. I can't pull you in. Unlike me, you have a chance to be an upright citizen."

"Idiot. Two's better than one, right? We can pay it off faster and live your useless dreams after that." (I'm sorry Rivaille but the image of an upright citizen just doesn't suit you.)

"Rivaille…" Tears welled up in his eyes, he threw his arms around his shorter friend. "Rivaille!" (OMG YAOI!)

"Hey get off of me. Stop crying it's gross. Stop it! Your snot is getting on me."

* * *

"I can't believe you two are really leaving." Alice said with tears in her eyes.

"Come on, don't cry. It's not like we'll never see you again. We'll come visit, I promise!" Lorenzo said.

"Really?"

"Of course, right Rivaille?"

"Yeah yeah."

"Both of you are all grown up now." Nina said. "Take care alright?"

"We will. Don't get too lonely without me Nina." Lorenzo said as he winked.

"Geez, you never learn do you." Nina said.

"I'll be so lonely!" Alice said as she hugged Lorenzo.

"I'll miss you too."

"Rivaille! I'll miss you too." She ran over to hug him but he dodged her.

"I'm sorry I don't do hugs."

"Meanie! Even though you're leaving!"

He bent down to pat her head.

"Don't cause trouble alright?" Rivaille said.

Her tears began overflowing.

"Nh. I will. I'll be a good girl." She said between sobs.

"Hey don't get snot on my shirt." He pulled out a handkerchief. (LOL déjà vu much?) "Here blow."

She took it and blew her nose. Then she hugged him, as he was too slow to dodge.

_I guess I'll make an exception this time._

"Alice, if you keep hugging them they can't leave you know?" Nina said.

Reluctantly, she let him go.

"Bye-bye!" She waved to them.

The two waved back and made their way.

* * *

"Here it is, the door. To the underground world. There's no turning back after this point."

"I know. Just hurry up and enter."

"All right. Here we go."

* * *

**OMG! Serious chapter. o.0 but don't worry the next chapter will have more fluff and small development. :3**

* * *

**IMPORTANT NOTE: (okay not really important)**

**I was planning on writing a OVA like special chapter for a Christmas "surprise", alright it's not so much of a surprise since I just told you all. The theme is Alice in the Titanland (it was a potential name for this story but I changed it to the current one cuz it didn't sounded serious enough). So what do you think, should I go for it?**

**If I should. So far here are the character line ups I thought for the story.**

**Alice = Alice (like duh.)**

**White bunny = Eren & Usa-chan**

**Queen of Hearts = Rivaille (LOL I don't know why but I thought it suit him)**

**Mad Hatter = Hanji (The perfect role for her)**

**Soldier = Lorenzo (There can be more than one soldiers)**

**That's all I've thought of, can anyone help me with the rest? Like for future characters like Mikasa and Armin... etc (You can add in dead characters as well.)**

**Some recommendations would be nice. :3 You can tell me via reviews or PM. I really look forward to your answers. :)**


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